Large Scale Central

Alaska: A visit to Ron Simpson's Copper Center Rail Depot Bar

General Discussion
#55

You can look everywhere throughout my Cicely layout and see rare collector items. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/030.jpg]

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[/url] Of course, only large-scale modelers will be likely to realize this. But they ARE my favored group. The idea, of course, is to provide as UNIQUE an experience through this model railroad layout as possible. That is the reason why so many different road names. If one is to come this far, one does not need to see another stateside-style model railroad. One definitely won’t find that here ! Thus I have taken great pains to find or build items that make this model stand out. As a result, the real cost is NOT in the track or even in much of the rolling stock. It is in the DETAILS. It is the details that make a model. I learned that from working with a professional diorama-builder years ago. It really WAS the detail work that made his models outstanding. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/019-1.jpg]

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#56

Here is another view through the window, looking down “Second Street” toward “Pennsylvania Avenue” (I have not yet changed the names from the ones that exist at the Northern Exposure filming site of Roslyn, WA). It is very difficult to get good pictures through glass, but you get the idea. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/012-1.jpg]

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#57

Great pictures Ron. Thanks! In this one…

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is the brown die cast car behind the Airstream trailer a Studebaker Hawk??

#58

Jon Radder said:
Great pictures Ron. Thanks! In this one…

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is the brown die cast car behind the Airstream trailer a Studebaker Hawk??

It is a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk–either Franklin Mint or Danbury Mint. I cannot recall which one anymore. I’ve had it around for over a dozen years. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/002-2250-2.jpg]

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#59

Cool… This is the only one of me ever made me posing with a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk, one of 4,071 ever made :smiley:

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#60

Jon Radder said:
Cool… This is the only one of me ever made me posing with a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk, one of 4,071 ever made :smiley:

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By an interesting coincidence, here is a Studebaker Golden Hawk currently on Ebay

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#61

My dad had a studebaker. I was too little to remember what one.

#62

My Franklin Mint-Danbury Mint collection of 1:24 vehicles began in '94 when I was still living in Fairbanks. One of the models I overlooked at the time was the US Mail jeep you see below. That turned into a rare item. By the time I began searching for one of these, its collector value had doubled. I finally acquired one of them for my layout at more than twice the price of the initial offering. Of course, some models have gone in the opposite direction in value. Naturally, this does not seem to apply to the ones that I seem to need to complete my layout. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-003.jpg]

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[/url] I also found one of those very attractive LGB mail cars, also at somewhat more than the original price: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-003-a.jpg]

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#63

Another 1:24 model that has gained considerable value is this Franklin Mint Airstream trailer. I bought one when it was first issued back in the 90s. They would only sell ONE to each customer. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-013-a.jpg]

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[/url] I found this one on Ebay last year for about double the price I paid for the first: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-014-a.jpg]

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[/url] I have two Ford trucks with trailer hitches that match up to each of these trailers. I had the foresight back then to obtain that second truck even though I did not have a second model Airstream. This is a model that could easily be reissued. I suspect there are a LOT of modelers who would now purchase one of these. What do YOU think? Wouldn’t you want one for YOUR layout?

#64

Last year I set up the K & L Liquor distributorship sales office in the downtown Cicely model. It’s major product line is Budweiser. I had ONE Bud delivery truck at the time. I have not found any in 18-wheeler size, but I HAVE acquired two more Bud delivery trucks in the last year: I will keep looking for an 18-wheeler version. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-010.jpg]

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[/url] Showing the Budweiser Alaskan bear tap handle on the building, which I used to serve Bud draft in the CRD for many years: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/aaa-CicelyViews-d-1.jpg]

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#65

I have already mentioned my collection of “tourist” buses. I spent some time hunting down these 1:24 models–two from China, two from Britain. Had to really bite the bullet on these costly limited edition versions, but they really add to the model: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-011.jpg]

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[/url] The original ones were the gold one and the yellow-orange one. I acquired those in 2007-08. The latter two I acquired this year. I have been waiting for the arrival of an American prototype bus, preferably a Greyhound type. None has ever surfaced in this scale. Believe me, I have searched long and hard: no positive search results. As with MOST of my pictures I present on LSC, these ones can be clicked on to obtain a larger version. Not all the larger versions are of the quality I prefer, but I try.

#66

In the 90s I found this model of an ALASKA state trooper car in a hobby shop in Anchorage that is long-gone. Since then I found one more on line. Haven’t seen any since. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-004.jpg]

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#67

THIS year I found this 1:24 model of an Alaska Industrial Hardware store truck, so naturally I had to have one of them: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-012.jpg]

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#68

I already had a hearse, but I REALLY like the elaborate details in this one, which was briefly offered for sale LAST year: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-006.jpg]

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#69

And, of course, EVERYONE from my era should have at least ONE classic 1957 Chevy: Here is my lineup: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-007.jpg]

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#70

I have my share of those early 70s muscle cars as well. Here are two of the latest acquisitions: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-001.jpg]

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#71

Some of my classic cars are over in the town’s used car lot. Among them is “Christine,” that infamous 1957 red Plymouth: [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-009.jpg]

(http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-009-m.jpg)

[/url] The blue Charger is the one in the chase scene with Christine. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-008-a.jpg]

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#72

And finally, I have these 1959 Eldorados. Maurice Minnifield in Northern Exposure had one of these like the gold one seen here. It is a well-detailed Danbury Mint version. The blue one is a Franklin Mint that I acquired back in my Fairbanks days. The newer gold one I found just a few months ago. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/a-005-a.jpg]

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#73

Ron,

Nice collection and they are displayed well.

#74

Ric Golding said:
Ron, Nice collection and they are displayed well.

I did it backwards. I started a collection of 1:24 Danbury & Franklin mint cars & trucks knowing the scale was right but not having a place to put them. At the time my only contemplated model railroad was the Copper River & Northwestern. In those days 1994-96) I did not even have ONE model railroad, although I was building up the rolling stock for one. It was not until 2006-07 that I finally had a modern railway system that could use these cars that by that time amounted to many dozens of collectibles. Some were damaged in the move to Copper Center and await and uncertain fate. Most of the rest now have a permanent home in Cicely. [url=i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/blackburn49/ALCANEX/004-1.jpg]

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